In Praise of Slow Living

Published on February 15, 2019

Living in a fast-paced world has its benefits. Technology has allowed us to speed up how we do things. Fast food (food chains, microwave dinners) have enabled us to eat ‘on the fly’. Smart phones have even allowed us to conduct our relationships via email, text messages and video clips. And yet, when I sit and think about all of this development in my life, I can’t help but think that none of the above examples actually benefits my living! All that these advances have done is isolate myself, and has helped me to spend more time on the silly treadmill of life, where I become so busy being busy that I simply live past everything that life has given me.

My wake up call to Slow Living came 25 years ago when my wife was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and doctors gave her not more than 3 years to live. Our eldest daughter was 18 months old at the time, and our second daughter was only 6 weeks! During the following years our family learnt to live in the moment, and learnt to change our lifestyle to live every day to the fullest. We never had any guarantee or assurance that my wife would be alive tomorrow (I suppose none of us ever have that guarantee, but that is something none of us ever like to think about!).

After making some very difficult decisions regarding ongoing medical treatment (the side effects of the medication my wife was on were worse than the impact of the actual disease itself), we decided to take her off all medication, and to manage her health and living ourselves (not a decision I would recommend easily to anyone!). We read and researched as much as we could about her disease, and slowly started living a new, slower lifestyle to accommodate her continuing health challenges.

Here we are, 25 years later, and my wife is still enjoying good health and a fulfilled life! Along the way a number of reminders in our lives have challenged us to continue living life Slowly, and to the fullest.

So, what is Slow Living? Many folk have an image in their heads of strange, hippy-like people eating carrot sticks and chaining themselves to trees in a quest of ‘saving the planet!’ But, nothing could be further from the truth.

Slow Living is simply learning to live life on purpose. It is a lifestyle that allows you to live life to the fullest, to find meaning in what you are doing, to enjoy deeper relationships with family and friends, to ‘stop and smell the roses’. Slow Living empowers you to find your true self, to learn to live with purpose (to find that purpose!), and to live a rich, fulfilled life together with everything and everyone that life has given you.

So, here is the challenge: Does it feel as if life is speedily passing you by? Do you feel as if your relationships are shallow and without meaning? Does your busy, frenetic lifestyle leave you feeling empty and unfulfilled? Are you on the fast train to nowhere?

If so, then now is the time to take stock of what you are doing, how you are living. Now is the time to step back a little and discover your life’s purpose. This doesn’t necessarily mean quitting your job and giving up all you have. It does mean taking an inventory of your life and discovering what you really want from your life.

Don’t put this off for a more convenient time! I learnt long ago (and continue to learn over and over again) that there is no more convenient time. NOW IT THAT TIME! Drop me an email, introduce yourself and allow me to walk with you on a path of purpose!